The Prince and The Child
by movieexpert1978
Summary: Dakota is living a hard life with her drunken father. one night she meets the Joker. what will the two outcasts think of each other? Later chapters set in TDK.
1. Dakota

**The Prince and The Child**

**Ch: 1: Dakota **

Dakota was a fourteen year old girl. She has natural red hair the fell past her shoulders almost half way down her back. She was five foot four and still growing. She was too skinny because she didn't eat very much. The most unique thing she had was the fact that her eyes were brown. Even though she was told she was beautiful she never felt beautiful. This was due to the fact that her father was an alcoholic. Her younger brother Eric was a troubled kid who did drugs and she had an older brother Norman. She hardly knew he because while she was in Gotham city, he was in NYC with their grandfather from their mother's side of the family. Eric and her father were always abusing her.

However Dakota managed to stay in school, get good grades, and get some fun in every now and then. It all started one night when her father came home more drunk than usual. He was so drunk Dakota wondered how he got home in one piece. She always left him alone. He wouldn't leave her alone tonight. She was doing the dishes when he grabbed the plate away from her.

She went wild-eyed as he slapped her across the face and her lip began to bleed. She didn't dare cry. He stared at her angrily for a few seconds. Then the verbal abuse began for her.

" You stupid brat. It's all your fault. If you didn't want to go to the she would still be alive today. I hate you!!" He snarled. She could smell the alcohol on his breath. He grabbed her shoulders and began to shove her into the cabinets. Her father was a big guy. Six foot four with muscle. He had black hair and glassy green eyes from the drinks he had.

Dakota cried out in pain as the cabinet handles dug into her back. More bruises for her. He shoved her into a corner and she just huddled there. She stared to shake as he pulled out the butcher knife. She tried to run but he grabbed her by the hair.

" No daddy! Please daddy! Please don't hurt me! Please daddy! NO DADDY!" She begged. He began to stab her arms. The knife was rammed so hard into her sin that sometimes the blade came out the other side of her arm. She screamed in pain only to get her mouth covered so the neighbors wouldn't hear her. He continued to stab her arms again and again. Blood droplets fell to the floor in large amounts.

Dakota couldn't take it anymore. With her remaining strength she pushed her father off of her and she ran out of the apartment. She heard the door slam behind her. She stumbled down the stairs of the building. She lived on the fifth floor. She fell a few times and this caused her to scrape her already battered arms. She cried even harder as she ran out of the building and into the alleyways of Gotham city.


	2. Joker

**Ch: 2: Joker **

He wasn't a good criminal yet but he was getting up in the ranks. He called himself The Joker. He wore a black outfit. Black shirt, pants, and jacket. He had dirty blonde hair that was dyed dark green. He wore white face paint, black circles were around his blue eyes. He had red paint over his lips and scars. He had scars on both sides of his lips that made him forever smiling. He was walking around minding his own business when he collided with a child.

They both jumped and shouted on impact. Joker realized the child was a young girl. She looked to be about an early teenager. She had red hair and brown eyes. The thing that puzzled her arms were bleeding like crazy.

" Sorry." She cried, he could tell she was already upset as it was. She turned to leave when he stopped her.

" Young lady." She looked at the stranger again ad noticed that he wore makeup that made him look like a scary clown. She wasn't scared though. The only man she was afraid of was her father. " What are you doing alone? Where did you get those nasty cuts?" She didn't answer. Dakota knew better than to talk to strangers. " Come here, I promise I won't hurt you." _Crap, that's going to be hard to convince because of my makeup. Uh-oh. _He was surprised when she cautiously walked towards him. He took off his black jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. He gently pushed her into a sitting position.

He examined her arms. They were cause by a knife. A big knife too and the cuts were really deep. " Where did you get those cuts?" He asked her.

" I fell down the stairs." She lied.

" No you didn't these were caused by a knife. Who hurt you?" He looked into her eyes, demanding the truth.

" My father did it." Came the quiet answer. Joker clenched his hand into a fist, remembering his own abusive father.

" Do you have a name beautiful?" she was silent for a moment before she answered.

" Dakota."

" North or South?" He teased. She giggled at the joke. " Now I have a car over there." He pointed to the black car on his right. " I have bandages. I'm going to bandage your arms. No questions." He immediately regretted saying that. She nodded slowly in agreement. True to his word he bandaged her arms. _why should I care about this girl. She knows I can kill her on the spot. Maybe she needs someone to talk too. We are a like in some ways. We both have abusive father and were are both alone in our own little world. _

" What's you name." She asked Joker.

" Hmmm. You can call me Joker." He answered.

" OK." He replied. She showed him where her building was and he walked her to the door. He asked her one more question before he left.

" What's you father's name?"

" Ethan."


	3. School Concern

**Sorry but I almost forgot to say that I don't own Batman or any other Batman characters. I don't own the Joker either. It is based on Heath Ledger's performance. I don't own Batman in any way shape or form. Ok back to the story. Thanks for the reviews. However I have two problems. 1: I don't know what a Mary -Sue story is. : I already have my completed story written and now I am typing it. BUT!! To ease things a bit, after I received a review from KatFight13 I have decided to write a darker version of this story. A version 2 ok. Sorry but, I'm going to write the original version. KatFight13 I really appreciate your reviews so keep them coming and please explain to me what a Mary Sue thing is please. **

**CH: 3 School Concern **

Dakota managed to survive the night without getting hurt again. Her father was asleep when she got back into the apartment. She quietly tiptoed into her room and quickly fell asleep. At school Dakota wore a sweatshirt to cover her bandages. She got hot and accidentally rolled up her sleeves, but quickly put them back down. Only her good friend Haley seemed to notice. At lunch she talked with Dakota. Haley was a blonde hair blue eyed girl. They were both freshman in Gotham High School.

" Dakota what happened to your arms?" Haley asked concerned. Dakota looked a her tray for a moment and thought of an answer.

" I fell down the stairs." She lied again.

" Must have been one heck of a fall." Haley remarked. Dakota had to think fast. She couldn't tell them about her father. He would hurt her all over again.

" Uhh… yeah, it hurt like crazy. For ten minutes I couldn't move it hurt so much. I scraped it up really bad. That's why it's bandaged." She lied again. Haley seemed to fall for it because they didn't talk about again that afternoon. Towards the end of the day Dakota was called down to guidance. The counselor asked her about her arms because Haley told them about the bandages. Haley was worried. Sadly Dakota told the same lie to the counselor, when she was done Dakota nearly burst into tears outside the office. She wanted to tell someone so bad but she couldn't because she was terrified about what her father would do to her. She wondered what Joker was doing as she walked home from school. When she got home her father was already there. She stiffened at the sight of him.

" The school called about your arms." He growled at her. She burst into tears.

" I told them I fell down the stairs. I didn't tell them the truth daddy. I promise." she cried in despair. She trembled as he walked up to her, then he slapped her across the face and walked out the door. She breathed a sigh of relief. She sat at the dining room table and started her homework. She only had math that night. She hated math but finished it in half an hour. Dakota always wondered how she managed to still get good grades even in the way that she lived. She went to go finish the dished from last night. She got out on of her cd's and started to play it on the radio. She started to sing to The Phantom of the Opera.

The one thing she held on to was the fact that her music teacher told her she had a beautiful voice for a soprano her age. She had been taking free private lessons from her music teacher. She practiced outside of the school with the cd. One of the main reasons she practiced was the fact that her music teacher received official news that they were making a movie musical of Phantom. Dakota practiced with the disk when she had the apartment to herself, which was quite often. The people that were holding auditions were coming in November to Gotham and it was late October. However Dakota had been practicing over the summer and she had five and a half months of training under her belt. she started training when it became official and pre-production began in the spring of this year. She was excited because they were looking for someone to play the role of Christen.

**To be safe to don't own The Phantom of the Opera in anyway. I don't own the musical, book, or the movie. **


	4. A Little Visitor

**Ch: 4: A Little Visitor**

_ugh! Their's so many dishes! _Dakota thought aggravated. She sang **Think Of Me **three times before going onto the next track. Unknown to her was the fact that a little visitor of jester sneaked in through her open window. Joker heard the girl singing in the kitchen. He silently walked in and watched her for a while. She was washing the dishes and singing at the same time. She had a beautiful voice. _that girls got talent. _He was surprised at how high she got and it didn't sound horrible. She made it sound nice. When she was done singing and went to change the track Joker started to clap. She jumped and dropped the dish she was holding.

" Shit!" She screamed angrily. Joker gasped at her sudden outburst. She gave him a look and he gave her a fake nervous smile. " Sorry about my language." _She can cut herself up by dropping that plate and all she cares about is her bad language! How weird is that! _She got a broom from the kitchen closet and began to sweep up the pieces. Joker tired to help her but she refused it.

" I'd show you a magic trick but I need a volunteer." Dakota waved her hand in the air. " Sorry a different volunteer." He finished. She faked pouted and he giggled.

" How long were you here?" She said quietly.

" Long enough to hear you pretty voice." he replied. She gasped in horror and groaned. " What!?" He squealed. " You have a special talent. Hold onto it." He gave her a wink.

" It's the only thing I can hold on too." She said quietly to herself. " Why did you come here?" She asked. She turned her back to him and returned to the dishes.

" I wanted to see how you were doing." He leaned next to her. She smiled weakly.

" Thank you Joker." He offered to help her with the dishes but she refused again. Twenty minutes later she was finished. She landed on the couch and gave a deep breath. Joker leaned up above her on the shoulder and head rest. He stared at her full of curiosity.

" How did you get brown eyes?" He asked suddenly.

" From my mother. She had brown eyes." he tilted his head. He touched her cheek with his gloved hand.

" Where is your mother?" He asked. Tears ran down her face and she didn't answer for a while. He went to leave when she answered.

" She's dead." He stopped dead in his tracks. Memories came flooding back to him of that dreadful night. _His mother was holding a knife in her hands. She was shaking and crying all over, begging her husband to leave her alone. She suggested anything that would sober him up a little bit, but no his father refused and advanced towards her as he began to laugh. _Joker shook his head to get rid of his thought.

" How did she die?" He asked weakly. She took a deep breath before explaining.

" She was murdered by an unknown sniper. She was shoot in the head. I wanted to go to the park that day. She was shot in the back first. Then she was shot in the head." Joker got chills that went down his spine. " her blood was all over me. The police had to drag me away from her. I don't remember how long I screamed for her to get up, but I knew that she wouldn't." She curled up into a ball and began to sob. Joker put a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her. He waited for a few minutes and noticed she was calming down. He realized she was asleep. He saw her body twitching and he knew she was having a nightmare. _A gunshot rang out. A scream followed. Her mother fell on her knees in pain. _She felt herself being lifted and saw Joker carrying her to her bed. He gently laid her down on the bed. He went to leave but felt a tug on his arm. He saw Dakota wouldn't let go of his wrist. He went down to his knees to be eye level with her.

" I Have to go now beautiful. If you need someone to talk to call me." He handed her a joker card with a number on the back. She nodded slowly. She leaned in close and kissed him on his white cheek. They both blushed for a minute.

" Bye Joker." She whispered. He kissed her hand goodbye and crawled out the window and into the stairwell that lead to the streets of Gotham City.


	5. Eric

**Thanks for the reviews everyone. I'm back form a very busy weekend. Thanks for the reviews to all you loyal readers and nearly dying for the new chapters. Never mind I'll shut up now!!**

**CH:5: Eric**

She woke with a start when the apartment door slammed shut. It wasn't her father, otherwise she would have heard him shouting. It was her younger brother Eric. Eric was seventeen. A junior in high school. How? Dakota would never know. he burst into Dakota's room.

" Stupid Girl!! Getting dad in trouble" He shouted at her. He yanked her by the hair and pushed her to the ground. Eric was six foot even. He had his father's black and green eyes.

" No I didn't Eric. I swear I lied to them. I told them I fell down the stairs." She cried Eric kicked her in the head causing her to see stars.

" You just love to cause trouble. Don't you." He shouted at her. She received several punches in the stomach before he left her room, slamming the door behind him. She continued to lay on the floor and cry. she didn't know how long she lad there for. She finally crawled back into bed. She checked the phone in her room to see if her brother was using it. He wasn't. From the noise outside she could tell he was playing one of his video games. They had been a Christmas present one year for him before mom died. She looked at the back of the joker card and dialed the number on her phone.

XXXXXXXXX

Joker was sitting in his chair. He found a perfect hideout in an abandoned warehouse. He had a small amount of men that were terrified of him. However, tonight he wasn't paying any attention to them. He had been thinking about Dakota's story about her mother all afternoon. _That girl has been through a lot, and I thought my childhood was bad. Well, we have almost the same childhood. But for me my father killed my mother. Hers was shot in cold blood right in front of her. _The images Joker found in his head of the mother's body were pretty disturbing. But, he was use to it. His cell phone began to vibrate on the table next to him. Puzzled he looked at the number. It wasn't one he knew. _Oh what the heck. _

" Hello?" He asked.

" Joker is that you?" A girls voice said. He gasped. The girl actually called him. He was sure she wouldn't because he though deep down she was a afraid of him.

" Dakota, what's wrong?" He heard her voice and it sounded like she was crying.

" It's my brother. He's home." Joker was confused about that. _What's wrong with that? _

" What's wrong." He asked again.

" The school called my house about my cuts. I got in trouble with dad and apparently Eric knows too. He started to hit and now my head hurts really bad. What should I do?" _Her brother beats her too! _He took a deep breath before answering.

" Calm down Dakota. I need you to calm down first." He heard her take a few breaths.

" OK, Joker I'm better now. I'm sorry this was silly of me. I shouldn't have call. I sure you are busy." He smiled at her embarrassment.

" It's ok. If I didn't want to talk to anyone I wouldn't have answered. Are you ok?" He asked

" Yeah my headaches going down." She replied. They were silent for a moment. _This is awkward. _" I guess I should go. I just wanted to talk to someone and I thought of me." She giggled.

" You have a lovely voice, beautiful. What are you going to do with it?"

" I've been practicing for over five months for an audition. I'm going to try out for the role of Christen for the movie The Phantom of The Opera next month, at that Royale Theater." _Oh that's nice. She needs to get it. She can get away form the fists for a while. _

" Well good luck with that." He looked at a clock to his right and noticed it was after ten. she need to go to bed early on a school night because Lord knows she needs it. " Dakota I want you to go to bed and get a good night sleep. Can you do that for me?"

" Yes I can. I guess maybe I will see you later." She replied.

" Oh yes you will. Trust me." She giggled.

" Good night Joker."

" Goodnight Dakota." They hung up the phones. _She is a fascinating child. Her singing is the only thing she can hold on to. _While in Joker's childhood the only thing he had to hang on too was a switchblade and a smile.


	6. Audition

**Thanks for the Reviews. I appreciate all the feedback. Thanks especially to KatFight13 who took time out of who took time out of his/her schedule to put major critique for my story. Also thank you KatFight13 for telling me about the Mary Sue. Yes I am new to this Fan fiction thing but I'm getting the hang of it. Sorry if some of the new chapters are short. One more thing another reader asked me about my stories with Joker a.k.a Heath and Cythina. I'm not sure if I will continue with those stories but if I change my mind I'll let you know. **

**Ch:6: Audition **

It was November 14th. Today was the day Dakota was going to audition for the role of Christine. She had asked her music teacher a few weeks ago in advance to take her. She was nervous during the rid to the theater. Her teacher explained that there were going to be some big people there. Her teacher pointed out that the famous Bruce Wayne was going to be there. Dakota didn't care she wished Joker would be there instead.

When they got to the theater, Dakota began to feel nervous. Their were so many people. The two separated. Dakota went backstage to get ready while her teacher sat in the audience for support. As Dakota listened to the other girls she began to lose hope. She had no chance of winning the role. That would be a miracle. Finally it was her turn to sing. She got on the stage and was blind by the lights for a few moments. She couldn't see the audience. She took a deep breath and nodded to the piano player to start. She sang **Think of Me **as if her life depended on it. In a way it sort of did. Before she knew it the song was over. She walked off the stage as people began to clap. A man walked in front of her. He had on a nice suite. He had brown hair and gentle brown eyes.

" Hi my name is Bruce Wayne." He said. Suddenly butterflies were flying in Dakota's stomach.

" Hello I'm Dakota." She replied politely.

" I just wanted to say that you sang beautifully. I stood out form all the other girls. In a good way I mean. If you don't get the role than these people are crazy." He whispered the last sentence.

" Thank you Mr. Wayne." She said shyly.

" Well good luck and if you do get the part break a leg." He smiled.

" Thanks Mr. Wayne." She smiled and left to find her teacher. She didn't see one man in particular. She should have thought, after all he was wearing a purple jacket.


	7. Congradulations

**Ch: 7: Congratulations**

Dakota waited for a phone call during her weekend. The two days went agonizingly slow. Than on Monday when she got home from school around 4 she received a phone call.

" Hello?" She asked nervously.

" Hello. Is this Dakota Sanders?" A male voice replied. _Why does a guy always have to call the house? _

"Yes." She said.

" Hi. I'm Ryan Roberts. You auditioned at the Royale theater on Friday for the role of Christen in an upcoming movie. I would like to say congratulations"

" For what?" Dakota said confused.

" You have won the role of Christen for the movie." Came the answered. Dakota's mouth dropped. It was a miracle. She would finally be free of this hellhole for a while.

" Thank you." she nearly shouted.

XXXXXXXXXX

She called her friend Haley first. The girls were ecstatic. Of course Haley pretended to be the jealous friend, but Dakota knew she was faking. They would talk about it later in school. Dakota was getting dinner ready when her phone rang. _Haley, I told you we would talk at school. _She looked at the number and answered it quickly.

" Hello." She whispered.

" Open your bedroom window please. It's locked and I can't get in." Joker's voice said. She hung up the phone and ran to her bedroom. Sure enough Joker was waiting for her. She opened her window and Joker climbed in.

" What are you doing here!! You could get me in trouble." She whispered furiously.

" Who cares I can deal with your father or brother if they come barging in." Joker replied. Joker sat down on her bed and looked over her room. It was a very plain room with white walls and boring furniture. He noticed that her bed sheets and pillow cases were black. Joker also noticed a stuffed animal on her bed. He picked it up and examined it. It was a toy husky dog.

" Hey put Balto down." Dakota shouted at him. Joker immediately put the toy back on the bed. Dakota grabbed it and squeezed it tightly. " he's my favorite toy. I name him Balto because he is my rescuer at night." She explained.

" You cuddle up with him I see." She nodded yes.

" Joker I got the part. I'm going to be Christen." She said. He was silent for a moment.

" Good job. I knew you would get it. I saw you. It was beautiful. Who were you talking to after the song?" He asked.

" Bruce Wayne... hey wait a minute how were you there I didn't see you. How did you know were I was going to be?" She asked.

" You told me remember. You told me that you were going to the Royale Theater. I look up the date online and there I was." He gave her a wink. She giggled at that. " How come your bed is black? It's not a very good color."

" Black is my favorite color." She said. He didn't like that answer.

" Well let's talk about each other. What do you like?" He asked.

" I like my best friend Haley from school." _That's a good start. _" I don't like going to gym because people see my burses and stuff. I like black. It helps me hide form my family." Joker was puzzled by this response.

" Ever try anything new? Is their anything you do besides singing and hanging out with your friend." Joker asked quietly.

" No. I just stay in my room and leave my father and brother alone. Sometimes at school I just feel out of place sometimes. As if no one sees me. Nobody but you." She began to cry silently for a moment.

" I'm sorry Dakota. I didn't mean to upset you." He went to hug went she did something unexpected.

" Get out!" She whispered. He just stared at her unable to do anything. " Get out now!" She shouted at him. He stared at her for a moment and slowly crawled bask out the window and left without saying good bye. _She's suffering form the abuse. I guess I went too far. _As he closed the window he heard the girl crying into her pillow.

**Hey Katfight13, I did some research, and I got a few ideas. /physical-child-abuse-effects.html Here's the site I got it form. Hope that doing the research helps making the story better for you readers. **


	8. Parting

**Thanks for the reviews everyone. It helps out a lot. **

**Ch: 8: Parting **

When Dakota told her brother and father they didn't really care. Eric gave her a dirty look as if to say that she didn't deserve this chance. Her father just said whatever and was thinking that it was one less mouth to feed for a while. After that she realized that she might have hurt Joker's feelings. She didn't know why she turned on him like that. He was asking too many questions and she got mad and yelled at him to leave. Dakota felt guilty about that. She turned on the only person who she could truly talk to without him judging her. Two days before she was going to leave she nervously called Joker and asked if he would come over to her apartment. She waited about half an hour before she saw him at the window. She let him and he crawled into her room.

" Hi." He said sheepishly.

" Hi Joker. Listen I wanted to say I'm sorry about what happened last time. I don't know what came over me. I guess I thought you were asking too many questions and I got mad because I thought I would get in trouble." She explained. Joker nodded in understanding. He thought about his childhood for a moment. When he was a child he always wanted to talk to someone about his father, but he hide it by saying jokes and pretending to be a jokester.

" Thanks for telling me Dakota." He smiled back. He wouldn't talk about his childhood with anybody. However he did think of something he could tell her. " Let me tell you something." She sat next to him on the bed and stared at him curiously. " Joker is not my real name. My real name is Heath." She smiled at the name. " What so funny?" He asked.

" Nothing. It's an interesting name and it's a name you hear very often. I like it. Thanks for telling me." She said. " I'm leaving on Thursday. I wanted to say goodbye to you before I left because I don't know when I'm coming back. All I know is that I going to be gone a long time because this is a big movie." They stared at each other for a moment when her bedroom door burst and her drunken father staggered in.

" What the hell is this? What the hell are you doing here?" Ethan shouted at Joker. Joker stood in front of Dakota as she held on tightly to Balto. Joker let out an angry sigh. " Get out of here." Joker didn't move. Ethan stared at his daughter. " So you are turning into a slut after all brat." He growled at her. Joker wouldn't take it. He lunged at Ethan and grabbed him by the throat.

" You remind me of my father" Joker pulled out his switchblade form his pocket." I hated my father." He snarled at him. " You want to know how I got these scars?" Ethan didn't answer. " My father was a drinker and a fiend. And one night he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. he doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit. So, me watching he comes at her with the knife laughing while he does it. He comes to me with the knife and says " Why so serious?". He sticks the blade in my mouth." Joker puts the knife in Ethan's mouth as he begins to struggle. " Why so serious?" Joker repeats in a dark voice. " Let's put a smile on that face. And..." He quckly pulls the blade out of Ethan's mouth, but holds his throat tightly. Joker puts the blade in his pocket and punches Ethan right in the stomach. He groans and falls to floor and hold his stomach and coughs off a little blood. Joker kneels down to floor and twists his face so Ethan is looking at him. " If you or your son hurt Dakota again I will kill you." He growls.

" Joker please stop." A quite voice says. He looks over his shoulder and sees Dakota holding tightly to her dog because she terrified.

" Dakota grabs your bags I taking you out of here." He said. Dakota puts on her backpack and grabs one large suitcase. Joker looks back at her father and lets go of his face. Joker straightens up his coat takes the suitcase form Dakota. They go out the window and down the fire escape down to the street.


	9. Help

**Ch: 9: Help **

Once they were on the street Dakota burst into tears. She cried into Joker's chest as he stroked her hair to comfort her. She calmed down after ten minutes.

" Thanks I needed someone to do that." She whispered. Joker chuckled. They walked over to his black car. She didn't know what brand it was. He gently put her in the back seat. He opened the trunk. He pushed some of the guns aside until he found his bag. He took out a water bottle and a towel. He pored some water onto the towel. He wiped off his makeup. He showed Dakota. She giggled at his plain old face. She crawled across the seat and touched his skin. He did his best to conceal the fact that he shivered at his touch. It had been years since someone touched his bare face. She traced his scars lightly with her fingers. She stared into his blue eyes.

" Was it true? The story about your father." She asked.

" Yes. It is true." He answered quietly. Before she could reply he walked back to the truck and looked through his back. He found a can of skin color makeup. Sometimes he wore the makeup to fit in. He hadn't worn it in years. He needed to put it on to blend in to where he was going to take her. He covered his scars with the makeup. He closed the trunk and got in the drivers seat and started to drive. " I'm going to take you to a safe place. You're defiantly going to be safe there." She nodded slowly. Forty-five minutes later Joker arrived to Wayne Manor. Even thought Joker was a criminal with his makeup off and scars covered he look like a guy who needed a different color suite to taken seriously. At the audition he saw Bruce Wayne take interest in her. He explained to her n the ride there that after she left he talked to Wayne. Joker told Wayne that he knew she was being abused. Somehow Joker brought up the crazy question that if he got Dakota away form her father that she could stay with him. Of course, Bruce didn't care He said yes to the question and in a few minutes later Joker left. He knocked on the door and a man with white hair answered.

" Good evening sir." He said with a British accent.

" May we please come in? I need to speak with Bruce Wayne." Joker said. Alfred let the two in and went to go get his master. Two silently stared at the mansion in awe when Wayne came in.

" Hello Jack. It's nice to see you again. Dakota congratulations on winning the role." He said cheerfully. _Jack? His name is Heath? _Dakota was confused but soon realized he was hiding his real name. Joker lead Bruce away from Dakota to explain the situation to Wayne. While they were talking Dakota was nervously talking to Alfred.

" Hello, my name is Alfred. I am Master Bruce's butler." He said

" Hi, my name is Dakota." She said nervously. _Why am I always surrounded by men!! It's driving my crazy. _She squeezed Balto more tightly.

" No need to be nervous around here. I can guarantee you that you are perfectly safe here." He said noticing that she was nervous. " You auditioned for the movie didn't you? Master Wayne was talking about your voice all day when he got home. I heard you got the role. Good luck at the movie." He said smiling.

" Alfred, take Dakota and jack to the guest bedrooms. They'll be staying here until Thursday." Wayne said, interrupting their conversation. Alfred escorted them to thier rooms. When she got into her room Dakota thought she was in heaven. Her bedroom was almost the size of her apartment. It even had a full bathroom. She got ready for bed as Joker was waiting in other room. She opened her door and Joker walked in. She laid down on the huge bed as Joker looked out the window. When he was done he sat down next to her. She already falling asleep and was trying to stay awake to talk to him. He smiled at her efforts.

" I'm sorry about what your dad did to you." She whispered. _He remembered his father advance towards him. He stuck the razor into his mouth and began cut. Heath whimpered in pain as he tasted blood in his mouth. He looked desperately for help but only saw his mother's dead body._ Joker was silent for a moment.

" Don't be. Go to sleep." He whispered back.

" Heath, when I come back will we still be friends? " She asked as he began to leave.

" Of course we will." He whispered back. He walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead. He noticed as he closed the door she had loosened her grip on Balto.

**I forgot to mention in the last chapter, but I named this Joker after Heath Ledger as a tribute to the late great actor. **


	10. Movie Time

**Thanks for the reviews everybody. Keep them coming. **

**Ch: 10: Movie Time**

Two days went by fast. The first day Dakota mostly stayed in her room with Joker. She was very uncomfortable with two new men in house. They didn't bother her very much. They were very gentle to her because of her background. The second day she began to feel comfortable. She explored the mansion. She loved the enormous backyard. She loved all the flowers in the gardens. She stayed in the gardens for most of the day and only came in to go to the bathroom and to eat. She learned to like Alfred. He was gentle and a funny personality. Bruce she wasn't sure of. She thought he was very mysterious at times. He was also very nice to her.

Finally Thursday came. Alfred drove her to the airport in Wayne's limo. Wayne and Joker were also in the car with her. Dakota was sad to leave Joker. She was very surprised Bruce hadn't discover his true identity. _I guess a little makeup does the trick. _They arrived to the airport in an hour. She said her quick goodbyes to Bruce and Alfred. She said a painful goodbye to Joker. She watched the three men leave to airport and smiled when Joker glanced back to her and gave her a thumbs up and winked at her. She waved goodbye and felt a tear fall down her cheek.

The plane left around two in the afternoon. Dakota was sitting in first class courtesy of the movie crew. she stayed awake the entire trip just incase their was something to see. However in the high altitudes their wasn't. The plane landed an Dakota entered a new world. She met her driver and got her suitcase and backpack. Even thought she wanted to have Balto in her backpack, the toy wouldn't fit and she had to put it in her suitcase. She was escorted to another limo and the drive began. She stared in fascination at the city in California. It was so busy and full of traffic and people. She wasn't disappointed and saw the famous Hollywood sigh out on the hills. After over an hour of driving they arrived at the studio were she would be filming.

Her eyes went wide at all the commotion. Golf carts were driving everywhere. People were taking out racks of costumes. Dakota was actually staring to get scared. She didn't know anyone and was deathly afraid of getting lost and getting trouble for being late. some of her fears were put to rest when the driving escorted her to the right studio. A huge set was being built. She wasn't sure what this set was going to be but it was going to be a big one. She was lead to her trailer and was told to wait for a few minutes before somebody would come.

From that day on Dakota's life was turned upside down. She was nervous around her costars and was terrified of losing her voice so all she drank was water. She deeply missed Joker. She stayed away form the movie cast and crew and for a few weeks eat by herself in her trailer. During rehearsals she began to get use to the commotion. She didn't tell anyone but her favorite co-star was Gerard Butler. She thought he was so handsome. Patrick Wilson was really nice too. She slowly became great friends with all the cast and crew.

However she knew not to over do it. She acted mature as possible when they were filming. When the day was done did she let lose. She was treated as an adult on the set even thought she was child in comparison to the others. When it was her sixteenth birth day the cast had a surprise party for her. She was so happy that day. After that the days of filming went down and soon the cast departed. The film was going to premier in December. It took nearly two years of filming but to Dakota it was worth it. She had the greatest time of her life. She was sixteen and going to walk down the red carpet.

After all that Dakota wanted to return to Gotham to see Joker and return home.


	11. Gotham City

**This were things start to go into The Dark Knight. **

**Ch: 11: Gotham City**

The primer was heavenly. Dakota nearly went blind form all the flashes of the cameras. She nearly went deaf form all the screams of the fans that wanted her autograph. The movie was amazing and Dakota felt so proud of herself. During filming she even got a contract for a singing career, however Dakota didn't want to start until she was done with high school.

It was late January when she got back to Gotham city. She once again returned to Wayne manor. When she was fifteen Bruce had adopted her. She didn't know what happened to her father and brother and she was a little bit guilty that she didn't care. She greeted by Alfred when she got to the manor. It took a while but Dakota felt a little bit normal again. She was still afraid of her father and scared that he might find her and hurt her again.

She got back into school and was treated like a celebrity for a few weeks. She first saw her friend Haley at school. The girls were so happy to see each other again. Both girls were juniors now in high school. After nearly a month the celebrity thing quieted down.

However things would start to change when she decided to take a walk around Gotham on a night in late February.

**Sorry that this chapter is really short!!**


	12. Murder

**Ch: 12: Murder**

The mob was having it's daily meetings. They decide to have this one at night because of this whacked job called The Joker. He was stealing from the mob no less. How stupid can a person get. Their were snipers on the roof just in case somebody decided to do something stupid. This included Batman. The snipers kept a weary eye on two men in front of the building. One looked to about to be in his early twenties and the other looked to be in his forties. They also paid attention to a hot dame that was walking across the street. They failed to notice Joker sneak into the building.

Dakota was walking along minding her own business. She noticed two men were in her path. She didn't pay them any attention to them. When she was walking away one of the men grabbed her and dragged her into an alleyway. The snipers got into position. The strangers slammed her into the brick wall. He grabbed her hair and slammed her head into the brick three times. Dakota began to feel dizzy and nauseas.

" Hello bitch." Her father said.

" Leave me alone father." She whispered back. He slapped her and she fell to ground. She began to feel even more dizzy.

" You got me into a lot of trouble girl. You're going to pay for it." He whispered into her ear. He took out a knife and went for her throat. Not knowing what else to do the sniper took aim and gunshots rang out. Blood spattered all over Dakota's face and clothing. He father had been shot in the head just like her mother. She stared in shock as her father's body fell over. She looked up and saw her brother Eric staring at her. When he advanced towards her more shots rang out. More blood spattered onto her clothing. Now her brother was dead. Dakota fell to the ground and stayed there for a few minutes. she couldn't get up even if she wanted to. From all the hits to her head her body was sore and wouldn't move.

Than she slowly got up and stumbled away from the bodies.


	13. Reunited

**Ch: 13: Reunited **

Joker stepped casually out of the mob building. He felt satisfied that he made a good impression. However Gambol would have to go. He heard footsteps and he sneaked into the darkness. He was a first class criminal now. He stole from five mob banks and was just getting stared. He saw a teenager staggering down the sidewalk. He grabbed her and shoved her into the wall.

" Why hello beautiful." He said excitedly. The girl was a pretty redhead. He was puzzled by the fact that blood was on her clothes. _Dang! Someone beat me to her. _She squirmed and tried to escape but Joker only held her tighter. " You look nervous. Is it the scars?" He said in a sad voice. " Want to know how I got 'em. Come here." He grabbed her face and held the knife to her cheek. " Look at me." He growled. " So I had a wife. She was beautiful. Like you. Who tells me I worry too much. Who tells me I ought to smile more. Who gambles and gets in deep with the sharks. One day they carve her face. We've got no money for surgeries. She can't take it. I just want to see her smile again. I just want her to know that I don't care about the scars. So I stick a razor in my mouth and do this..." He smiles and show his scars.

" To myself. And you know what? She can't stand the sight of me." He shouts. " She leaves. Now I see the funny side. Now I'm always smiling."

" Joker..." Dakota moans. The pain in her head is staring to get to her. " Heath it' me." Dakota whispered. He squinted his eyes at her. _Only one person knows my real name. That can't be her. _He lowers his knife and brushed the red hair out of her eyes. He gasped when he realized they were brown.

" Dakota..." He gasped. " It's you." He lowered her to the ground to get her comfortable. " What happened beautiful?" He asked. She was slow to answer. She cried into Joker's shoulder.

" My father and brother are dead." Joker stared at her. She repeated, " They're dead. My father tried to attack me and they both got shot in the head." She sobbed. " I have to call the police" She explained. They stared at each other for a moment. he would stay until the police came close. She knew he was a criminal from the first day they meet, but they haven't seen each other in two years. Dakota didn't know Joker was planning something BIG.

" It's nice to see you again Dakota." He smiled and gave her a small kiss on the forehead. She called the police and he was forced to leave her when they were coming close. He couldn't afford to be caught by police.


	14. Party

**I like to update at least every 24 hrs. Sorry if I'm going to fast. I know this might be a dumb thing to say but, if readers want me to slow down with the updating I will. I just don't like to drive my readers crazy because they are waiting for the next chapter. Anyway thanks for all the reviews. Keep them coming. **

**Ch:14: Party**

The police came to the scene in five minutes flat. Of course the two men were pronounced dead at the scene. Dakota answered all the questions that were asked. Bruce Wayne picked her up and took her. Dakota cried for most of the night. Even thought her family had been hurtful to her she stilled loved them. To her Bruce Wayne and Alfred were her family now. She didn't even know her older brother Norman very well. The funeral was a week later and she shocked to see that her older brother didn't come. She calmed down about the deaths a few days later. However she had constant nightmares about the shootings of her mother and the boys.

During this time Dakota saw the news. Joker was making threats to the Batman to turn himself in. However the night she saw the footage of his threat was the night Wayne was going to have a fundraiser party for the new District Attorney: Harvey Dent. The thing that got her scared was when he said people would start dying. Dakota was told for some weird reason that they would be having the party at Bruce's penthouse. _I guess it gives a more professional look. _Dakota wore a purple silk dress that had short sleeves and a long skirt. Of course her Step-Father had to make a grand entrance by arriving on a helicopter and coming out with three girls. Dakota just rolled her eyes.

" I'm sorry I'm late and I'm glad to see that you got started without me. Now where is Harvey?" He clapped his hands together and pointed to Dent. " Where's Rachel Dawes?" She walked towards Bruce in her turquoise dress. " Rachel is my oldest friend. When she told me that she dating Harvey Dent I had only one thing to say. The guy with those awful campaign commercials. That I believe in Harvey Dent." The crowd laughed while Dakota smiled.

Wayne gave Dent a thumbs up. " Nice slogan Harvey. I think that with Harvey our streets will be a lot safer, an you know what. I believe in Harvey Dent." Everybody nodded in agreement. " Now let's continue with the festivities." Everybody clapped and went on their way. Dent looked quite in Dakota's opinion. He was the typical blonde hair blue eyed hot guy. Dakota saw Bruce walk out to the balcony and was quickly followed by Rachel. Dakota was beginning to feel uncomfortable and claustrophobic. Dakota went into Bruce's bedroom in the penthouse. She needed peace and quite for a few minutes. She laid down in the king size bed and closed her eyes for a few minutes. She jumped a the sound of gunfire.


	15. Party Crashers

**Ch: 15: Party Crashers **

Dakota quietly ran into the party room. She gasped in shock as she saw Joker and his men walking around the room. Joker was walking the room, pointing the shotgun at random people, and demanding to know where Harvey Dent was. Dakota began to snake through the crowd to get close to Joker.

" We' re not intimidated by thugs." Someone said. Dakota quietly groaned in aggravation. _Never talk to him like that. _

_" _You know you remind me of my father..." Dakota flinched inwardly remembering how angry he got at her father. He grabbed the man and brought his knife to his throat. " I hated my father." He growled.

" Alright that's enough." Rachel said. joker's attention immediately went to Rachel. Dakota tried to get thorough the crowd. She couldn't very well because they were packed tightly together in fear. When she got a glimpse at the situation she saw Batman. He was fighting the other men as Joker was scrambling for a fallen gun. Dakota walked through the crowd again and once she was out in the open she was Joker was holding Rachel's arm and was leaning her out of an open window.

" Joker stop." Dakota shouted. He looked at her and licked his lips. He dropped Rachel onto the floor and she ran into the crowd. Joker and Dakota stares at each other. _Is she wearing that purple for me? Either way she looks beautiful in it. _

" Hello Dakota." He said as he walked towards her. Batman took the chance and charged at Joker.

" No!" Dakota screamed. When they fell to the floor the guests ran to the stairs or elevator to escape. Soon only Joker, Batman, Dakota, and Joker's knocked out men were in the room. The two rivals were standing up again and were punching madly at each other. Dakota had no clue as to what to do. She spotted Joker's fallen shotgun. She cocked it and got ready to shoot. The two men pushed away from each other. Breathing heavily the stared at Dakota.

" Get out of here and drop the gun." Batman said in very deep voice.

" No." She cried, the gun was trembling in her hand. She was scared for Joker. She didn't want her only friend taken away from her. " Both of you leave right now." She shouted in a shaky voice. Neither of them moved.

" Dakota look at me." Joker said. She did. " Don't worry about me." He gave a sly glare to Batman. " I'll be fine." He winked at her. _She doesn't understand. He's got rules. He won't kill anyone. Not even me. _While Joker had his back turned Batman charged. Somebody grabbed Dakota from behind. She saw it was Alfred and dropped the gun. They scrambled down the stairs to escape. 


	16. Confession

**Thanks for all the reviews readers. I love them. **

**Ch: 16: Confession **

The police arrived at the scene a few minutes later. No surprise to Dakota both Batman and Joker were no where to be found. She answered more questioning and went home. Bruce, Alfred, and Dakota were in the limo. The drive was spent in complete silence. It was when they got home did the fire start. Dakota got changed into her PJs. She walked into Bruce's room to see if he was OK.

" You looked beautiful tonight." He said to her.

" Thanks dad." She knew Bruce would never hurt her and quickly go comfortable with the fact that he was her Step-Father.

" What happened tonight?" _Here it comes. _" I couldn't find you anywhere until you were out of the building and apparently when Batman and Joker were gone."

" I tried to stop the fighting. I can't stand fighting." She answered.

" Joker would have killed you very easily Dakota. He's a criminal and a murderer. He killed the Commissioner and an important Judge." He argued.

" He wouldn't kill me. He would never hurt me." She blurted out. She covered her mouth in shock at what she said. Bruce looked at her with concern.

" How would you know that? He's never met you." He said seriously. Since she couldn't lie anymore the truth had to come out.

" I've know him since I was fourteen." He saved me from Ethan." She answered.

" Did he kill him?" Bruce asked.

" No, I told you it was a sniper. I didn't see the shooter anywhere. I swear." She said. They were silent for a minute. Bruce sighed and brushed his hand through his hair.

" Stay away from him. He's dangerous." He said sternly.

" Not to me." She whispered.

" Dakota I'm serious. Stay away from him. Can I trust you with that?" He stared at her.

" Yes." They hugged each other. Bruce kissed his Step-Daughter on the forehead.

" Good night. I love you."

" I love you too dad." She whispered back.


	17. Visit

**Ch: 17: Visit**

After school was done the next day Dakota took her car and drove it into downtown Gotham. She parked it and walked down into an unfamiliar alley. Even in broad daylight it wasn't wise to do that with the threat of the Joker.

" Joker." She screamed. She walked for a few moments more. " Joker." She repeated. Somebody grabbed her from behind and slammed her into a column.

" Quiet you want someone else to hear you." Joker growled. She pushed him off of her.

" What are you doing?" She demanded. " You've turned into a murderer."

" I'm a criminal. I'm just doing what I do best. I take their little plan and I turn it on itself." He said cheerfully.

" You've turned into someone else. You're not the Heath I met two years ago." She cried He rolled his eyes. _She doesn't get the big picture._

" I'm going to make this city mine. This city deserves a better class of criminals, and I'm going to give it to them." He waited for her to answer.

" At what cost. Don't do this. I know you are a better person than this. It's not fair to me. I'm just so afraid that you will die or get caught and I'll never see you again. You can stop now while you still can." She begged.

" No I can't. I can't turn back because a Judge and the Commissioner are dead. I'm going to do this." He was completely ignoring her pleas.

" I love you." She cried with tears in her eyes. He stared at her in disbelief. _She's only saying that to make me stop. _

" What?" He asked shocked.

" I love you." She repeated.

He sighed and continued to stare at her. Tears flowed down her face. He leaned in close and kissed her. She kissed back with all the passion she could give him. _She really means it. _When he let her go he whispered one thing. " For your safety I suggest that you leave the city."


	18. Discovery

**First I would like to say thank you readers for the reviews. Second naming this Joker after Heath Ledger was meant to be a tribute to the late actor. I wasn't insulting him in any at all. I was just trying to show how much I loved his final performance. Sorry if I have offended anyone. **

**Ch: 18: Discovery**

The next two weeks went by in haze fro Dakota. Joker continued his reign of terror on the city. The very same night Dakota confessed her feeling to him he killed two police officers. Their name were Patrick _Harvey _and Richard _Dent. _He even pointed out that the mayor was going to be his next target in the obituaries of Gotham Times. He was glad Dakota didn't come to the parade. He didn't need her in all this confusion. Disguised as a officer he almost got the mayor. But a damn police officer got in the way. After the shots were fired Joker escaped into the crowd.

One day Dakota was walking around the garden of the mansion. She loved the garden. Their was peace and quite here. As she was walking along she fell through a hole in the ground. She fell into a enormous cave. She slowly got up and was satisfied that nothing was broken or sprained. She heard chirping off in the distance. It wasn't birds. _Uh-oh maybe their are bats in here. _Her suspicions were confirmed when she walked forward and looked at the ceiling. Their were thousands of bats chirping away. She walked around the cave in fascination. Then she stopped in her tracks. In front of her a few yards away was her Step-Father and Alfred talking to each other. The infamous Batman suite was in the background surrounded by all kinds of gadgets. _My Step- Father is batman!_ She became horrified. Alfred looked up and spotted her. He stared at Dakota and became quite. Puzzled Bruce looked at Alfred. He looked forward and saw Dakota. _Oh-no! _

Dakota bolted and both men went after her. She ran back to the opening that she fell from. She tried to climb up but the stone was slippery from the moist air from the waterfall. Bruce grabbed her and pulled her down to the ground.

" No!" She screamed. " No! Not you! It can't be you! No!" She screamed over and over again. She collapsed into Bruce's arms and sobbed as Alfred watched in despair.


	19. Promise

**Ch: 19: Promise**

For the next hour Dakota listened to Bruce explain everything to her. How he had done years of vigorous training. How he managed to stop Ras Al Ghul's plan to engulf the city into chaos. He was going to turn himself in to the police. He couldn't endure the threat to the Joker anymore.

" Dakota do you know where he is? What his next move is?" Dakota remained silent. " Dakota I have to catch this criminal." He said seriously.

" If you turn yourself you won't be able to catch him. All he said was that this city deserves a better class of criminal and that he was going to give it to them." She finally said.

" Anything else?" He asked.

" No." She lied. She knew Joker was planning something big for the city.

" Dakota can I trust you?" He asked her gently.

" yes you can trust me dad. Your identity is safe with me. I promise." She swore.

"Thank you." He went to walk away when Dakota grabbed his hand.

" Promise you won't kill Joker." He stared at her in disbelief. _She wants me to protect a criminal. Well she has know him for three years. Is it really possible that they are really close? _" Promise me!" She cried.

" I promise Dakota." He swore to her.


	20. In The Middle

**Thanks for the reviews everybody. Readers I don't care how fast you get to the chapters after I update. Take your time reading. RobertChaseICU go luck with you situation. Hope you feel better. **

**Ch: 20: In the Middle**

Joker had one hectic schedule. First the District Attorney claimed to be Batman and turned himself in. He wasn't the real Batman. Joker thought it was really was Dent. _The way you threw yourself after her._ It didn't matter to Joker when he got caught. Of course Harvey Dent never made it home. He was interrogated by Batman himself. Joker suffered a massive beating. He told them were both Dent and his little squeeze were. But, unknown to them Joker switched the locations and he made Batman go after Dent when he was think he was going after Rachel. Joker got out of holding center with Lau. Lau was the Mob's accountant who knew were the Mob's money was. Today he met with one of the Bosses and burned Joker's half of the money. Then this idiot Reese someone was going to blab about the identity of Batman. Joker offered that Reese wasn't dead in an hour he would blow up a hospital.

Gotham General was where he went and met his friend Harvey Dent. Half of his face was severely burnt. Joker convinced him that chaos was the way to get things done and that it was fair. Joker succeeded in bringing Dent to his criminal level. It wasn't hard. Madness is like gravity. All it needs is a little push. Joker blew up the hospital and took one bus. Now Joker stood looking out of an open window that overlooked Gotham's waterways. He disguised the hostages in clown outfits and his men were the fake hostages. He loved playing games! Tonight he took control of the two ferries that were in the waterways. He rigged them up to blow and gave them to the detonator to the other boat. He had given them until midnight.

He couldn't wait to see the fireworks. The police were gathering in the building across from Joker's. If his experiment worked than he had the city in his grip. When things "calmed down" he would see Dakota. Joker did have feelings for the girl. He surprised himself by falling love with the girl. He hoped that she took his warning and left the city. But, knowing her she was probably still in the city. Batman hadn't disappointed him. He heard shouting on the floor below and he knew Batman was here. He continued to watch the two when his guard dogs started to growl. He turned and saw Batman.

" Oh good you made it. I'm so thrilled." He said sarcastically.

" Where's the detonator?" Batman asked in his deep voice.

" Go get him." Joker ordered the dogs. All three dogs charged at Batman. He punches and it fell to the floor below. The other two pounced on him and they all fell to the floor. Joker advanced and began to beat him with a lead pipe. Batman managed to push one of the dogs off of him. When he got the opening he kicked Joker, who fell flat on his back. Batman managed to stand up and pushed one of the dogs off the ledge. Finally got pushed the third and final dog over the ledge. However he lost his balance and fell into a net. Batman fell back to the floor. Joker was on the attack.

He kept banging at Batman with the pipe. Joker went to stab him and Batman kicked Joker and the attack stopped. Batman tore off the net and Joker landed a huge blow to his chest. Batman fell to his knees. Joker kneeled down and out of just plain curiosity he tore off Batman's mask. Joker came face to face with Bruce Wayne. _Dakota's step-father. _They stared at each other for moment when Joker stared to laugh.

" No way. Bruce Wayne." He laughed. Joker took out his switch blade. He brought it to the playboy's throat. " You give me no choice. If Batman keeps getting in the way than we can't be together." He sneered.

" Joker no!" Someone screamed. Both men looked back and saw Dakota staring at them. " I'm sorry Joker but, please don't hurt him." She begged. He rolled his eyes in aggravation.

" Do you want to be stuck in the middle of this battle. Possible for the rest of your life." Joker asked her.

" If the thought of me keeps you from killing each other that yes." She replied weakly. Joker just looked at her stunned. _She won't be able to handle this well. _Joker put his knife in his pocket and shoved Bruce away from him. _She loves both of us. All she wants to do is protect us. _Dakota silently began to cry. It was hard being stuck in the middle of theses two rivals.

As Bruce put his mask back Joker walked towards Dakota. She smiled weakly as he gently brushed her tears away. He leaned in close and kissed her. Dakota stood on her tiptoes to meet his lips. She held him close as they kissed.

" It's just that when you act like this you remind me of my father. I know you will never want to act like him and that's why I want you to stop this. It scares me and I don't want to be scared of you because you are my closest friend." She explained to him. She gave him one last hug and walked over to Batman.

" You better run and don't come back." Batman growled. Not knowing what else to do Joker did just that.


	21. Note

**Ch: 21: Note **

Two weeks after the battle Joker was still missing. When Joker left and was out of sight Batman took Dakota to safety. He only go halfway when Fox said Gordan was missing and had a received a call form none other Harvey Dent. Batman saved Gordan's family but in the process Dent was killed. Bruce told Dakota that he made Batman the false killer. Now Batman was the villain. _You either die the hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain._ As for Joker's location Dakota knew where he was. She received a joker card that told her where he was. Dakota continually denied where he was and she burned the card so Bruce wouldn't find it. Before she knew is it was April. Dakota's birthday was the twenty-first. On the twenty she made a decision to see Joker.

" Alfred." She called. He turned and smiled at her. " I'm going out with Haley tonight. I have a note for dad. It's hard to tell something's to him personally so that's why I wrote it down." She handed the note to Alfred. " Will you give this to him when the time is right?" She asked. Alfred was suspicious because he remembered the note Rachel gave him. Now Rachel was dead. But, Alfred trusted Dakota.

" I'll try." He answered. She gave the butler a smile and a bid hug.

" I love you very much. You are such a good friend. To me and dad. You are one of my best friends. I just wanted let you know."

" Thank you. Dakota. I grantee Master Bruce couldn't have asked for a better daughter." He leaned in close to whisper something to her. " Your a good friend too Dakota. I probably would have gone mad form taking care of just Master Bruce." He winked at her as she giggled. They once more and Alfred watched Dakota leave the manor.


	22. Goodbye

**Thanks for the reviews everybody. I know that you readers are going to hate me after this chapter. RobertChaseICU this chapter is not meant to upset you and if it does I'm sorry but I already wrote this on paper. I wish you good luck and I hope you feel better soon. As I have told in a pervious story I write my stories on paper as a rough draft then type it and publish it on to the sight. Here goes. **

**Ch: 22: Goodbye**

She drove around the street of Gotham for hours. When it was about ten she went to the mall for a little bit and spent about an hour and a half their. After she was done she went a familiar building. It was the old place where she use to live with her abusive family. She found Joker's car and was surprised that it was unlocked. She opened the trunk and got what she needed and put the item in her purse. She walked up to her old apartment. She knocked on the door.

" Joker." She whispered.

" Hello beautiful." He said as he answered the door. She slowly walked into the living room. She hugged Joker for a minute than kissed him. It was about five to midnight.

" Be right back. I got something for you Dakota." Joker said excitedly. He ran out of the room. Dakota examined the kitchen. It was dirty and wasn't shocked to see the sink was full of dirty dishes. Dakota's stomach was in a knot. She turned her cell phone off when she went to the mall. She didn't want to hear it and she didn't want to know anybody called her. Joker came back with a small box in his hand. It was a small jewelry box. She giggled as Joker handed it to her. She quickly opened it. It was a J charm. It was purple with amethyst stones. She stared at the charm for a moment and smiled.

" Oh Joker I love it." She squealed. She pushed her red hair back and put the necklace on with a little help for Joker. She leaned back into his and she savored the feeling of his lips nuzzling and kissing her neck. She turned and face him and kissed him again. When they let go she laid her head on his strong shoulder. " I love you Heath.'

" I love you too Dakota." He said into her ear. She gently pushed him away.

" I have something for you now." She said. Puzzled Joker watch her pull something out of her purse. She was giving him a charm as well. It was a white phantom mask next to a red rose. He stared at it for a moment and put it on. " You look handsome." She joked. He gave her a wink.

" BRB. Be right back." Joker said. He hurried and closed the bathroom door. He wanted to take his makeup off. He trusted Dakota some much. For some reason now he didn't want her to see him in his makeup. _Oh well. _Dakota waited outside. She silently began to cry. She pulled out a gun form her purse. She took a heavy breath and cocked it.

" Goodbye Alfred, Goodbye dad, and especially goodbye to you Heath. I love you all." She took another deep breath. She waited until she heard the water running in the bathroom sink. She put the gun to her temple with trembling hands. Without another thought she pulled the trigger. A gunshot rang out and Joker froze. He was about to put the wet towel to his face when he heard it. He ran out of the bathroom and to Dakota.

He couldn't believe his eyes. Blood was everywhere. On the floor, the window, the carpet. Joker collapsed on his knees and slowly crawled towards the girl. Her beautiful red hair was soaked in blood and unique brown eyes were open, wet with tears. He gently lifted her limp body into his arms.

" Dakota." he whispered. " Dakota." He whispered forcefully. He shouted her name again. He gently shook her body. He was in complete denial. He knew she couldn't hear him. She was dead. She committed suicide. Joker screamed as loud as he could. The woman he loved was dead in his arms. He never cried so bitterly before in his life for anyone. The only time he had ever done this before was when his precious mother died. He didn't know how long he cried, Joker didn't care. He kissed Dakota on the forehead and gently placed her body back on the floor.

He wept as he ran out of the room. He quickly looked back and this caused his body to convulse with sobs knowing Dakota was in there lying dead. He ran out of the building as fast as he could. He quickly went up the fire escape across from her building . He came to the level of her apartment and saw the blood spattered window. He sighed heavily for a few moments.

Summoning up on the last of his strength he called the police. He would never leave her body anywhere and let it rot. She was too beautiful to rot. Joker watched the commotion as the police arrived ten minutes later. He saw Commissioner Gordan at the scene. 


	23. Mourning

**Thanks for the reviews. Dakota couldn't handle the fact the two most important men in her life were going to keep fighting each other. It will be fully explained in this chapter. Also I've updated by BioProfile so read it and ask me any questions you want. Be prepared the story is soon coming to a close. Sorry Everyone. RobertChaseICU, I'm glad I didn't upset you. As I said before I hope you feel better soon. **

**Ch: 23: Mourning**

Bruce Wayne was pacing back and forth in his study. He was worried sick about Dakota. _on a Friday she has to be home by eleven. It's past midnight, nearly one! _Two minutes later he received a call from Commissioner Gordan. The dreaded phone call that no parent wants to hear.

" Hello. Is this Bruce Wayne?" Gordan asked seriously.

" Yes sir." Bruce said quickly.

" I'm Commissioner Gordan. I afraid I have got some bad news." Their was a dreaded silence for a moment. " Your daughter dead. It is a possibility that she has committed suicide. Her name is Dakota. She has red hair and brown eyes. Am I correct?" Gordan needed to confirm it.

" Yes." Came a shaky answer. Bruce was stunned. He didn't know what to do.

" I'm sorry for your loss Mr. Wayne. Unfortunately I need you to come down to the station to confirm it." Gordan said in sad voice.

" I will sir." Bruce whispered. He hung up the phone and was too stunned to move. Tears began to run his face. _First Rachel and now Dakota. It's not fair. What am I to do?! _His thoughts screamed in his head. " Alfred!" He shouted. His loyal friend came running into the study. Bruce noticed that he was holding something in his hand.

" What is it sir?' Alfred asked, full of concern and out of breath.

" It's Dakota. She's dead." Bruce cried. Alfred went silent and watched his master fall apart. he handed him the note. " What's this?" He asked.

" Dakota wanted me to give this to you when the time was right." Was the answer. Bruce tore open the note and read it out loud.

_**Dear, Daddy and Alfred**_

_**I love you both very much. You have both been best friends for me for a very long time. Bruce, I was so happy to call you my dad. Alfred, your the best friend a person could ever ask for. Take good care of dad for me. Dad, when I realized you were Batman, I was upset. I thought you might get hurt. Then slowly I became to be proud of you for what you are doing for Gotham. I know you will succeed in making Gotham a better place. Then their is Joker. I love him with all my heart. Sorry to disappoint you but I do. Yes he was "Jack" back when I was fourteen. I tried to make his stop his crime but he said no and wanted me to leave the city for my safety. I said goodbye to him too. He help me through a very hard time in my life. However, I can't handle the fact that the two men I love the most are fighting each other. I'm sorry but I can't handle it, because I know that their will be a day when one of you gets killed. I don't want to see that day. I'm sorry but I'm going to end it. I have to much conflict in me and it's tearing me apart. Joker never touched me. He didn't hurt me in anyway. Just in case you thought Joker did kill me. I know that he would never hurt me. I'm proud of you both for making Gotham safe. I love you both. Goodbye. **_

_**Love, **_

_**Dakota. **_


	24. Funeral

**Thanks for the reviews. Sorry I've made everyone sad. Not all stories have happy endings. Opps I'm going to make readers even more sad. This is the last chapter of The Prince and The Child. But don't worry I've got some good news. I have another Joker story. It's called: ****Who's in Charge of Gotham City? ****. I will update that story ASAP. It's still going to be in the Batman Begins category. **

**Ch: 24: Funeral **

When Bruce and Alfred got to the police station, they had to identify Dakota's body. When Bruce saw her body he burst into as Alfred cried silently by his mater's side. Dakota died at seventeen on April Twenty-first. It was her birthday. The funeral was a week later.

Among the mourners were, Alfred, Bruce, Fox, and Commissioner Gordan for Dakota Wayne. There were many other people. Her teachers, friends, and even some co-stars were at the funeral. Everybody was taking a hit. Bruce stopped Haley in the group. He saw that she was crying heavily. After the ceremony people began to disperse. Soon Alfred and Bruce were left. Bruce spotted someone walking towards them. The man wore a purple suite. Joker slowly walked towards them. Mortal enemies stared at each other. Bruce nodded and Joker was allowed to approach the coffin. He put a bouquet of violets and roses on the casket.

" She said violets were her mother's favorite flower." He said quietly to Bruce. Bruce could tell Joker had been crying a lot. His makeup was all over his face in patches. They were all smudgy form his tears.

" I'm sorry Joker." Bruce said.

" I am too Wayne. I guess when she learned the truth about us I guess she couldn't take it very well. The world was coming at her too fast. I loved her very much. You may not believe me but I did. I could tell that she loved you a lot too. She just adored you. Both of you I should say." Joker said.

" I found a charm on her. Did you give it to her?"

" Yes."

" She's wearing it. This way she can always remember you." Bruce said. More tears began to flow down Joker's battered face.

" Thanks Wayne. Honestly I didn't to see it coming. She just looked so happy. I went to take my makeup off and the next thing I heard was a gunshot." Joker explained. Bruce offered his hand. Joker gently shook it. Joker walked back to the coffin for one last time. " I love you beautiful. Goodbye Dakota." He whispered. As he walked away Joker was holding his phantom charm that Dakota had given him. Joker stayed out of sight as Bruce and Alfred walked into the black limo. Joker watched it drive away. When it was out of sight Joker burst. He fell to his knees and began to sob. _God damn it. I should have listened to her and stopped while I had the chance. _Joker continued to cry as he stared at the coffin.

In the bouquet of flowers was a joker card.

**That's it. The end. Don't' worry the new story is coming up soon. **


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